At a time of slow job growth, it's one of the most thankless jobs in Washington. The first Friday of every month, the Obama administration's economic spokespeople fan out to television studios, dial in to radio shows and hold briefings. This morning, Alan Krueger, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, stepped out into the sweltering sun to speak with The Daily Ticker about the jobs numbers. As the accompanying video shows, it's tough to put an optimistic gloss on the figures.
It's impossible to divorce the jobs figures from the current election campaign. For Romney, each poor jobs report opens a clear opening. On Friday, his campaign got back on message. Romney called the report "disturbing" and a "kick in the gut" and reiterated his charge that President Obama has failed to get the economy moving.
For the Obama administration, the response is more complicated and less declarative. And in our interview, Krueger followed a four-step formula.
First, look backward. Presented with disappointing data in the current months, the administration urges us to focus on how far the economy has come from its depths. "I try to step back and put the numbers in context," Krueger told me. "We've now had 28 months in a row where the private sector has created jobs 4.4 million."
Second, without mentioning the guy's name, place the blame on the president
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/white-house-four-step-tap-dance-around-june-164940278.html?l=1
Realist - Everybody in America is soft, and hates conflict. The cure for this, both in politics and social life, is the same -- hardihood. Give them raw truth.
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